INTRODUCTION:

Dear Reader,

Do you know what pollution is? How it affects our environment? What serious issues are currently happening to our world? Please let me take a few minutes of your time to explain what we need to do to help the environment and to be kaitiaki.

KAITIAKITANGA/RESPONSIBILITY:

First of all, you may be wondering what “kaitiaki” or “kaitiakitanga” means. Those words refer to being a guardian or showing leadership to our environment, especially to our lands and oceans. Us humans particularly destroy and ruin these crucial places which is the habitat for most of our sea life and land life. It is our duty to take responsibility and look after where we live and make Earth a better place for both humans and animals to live.

WATER POLLUTION:

You may be wondering, how are we slowly destroying our planet Earth? We humans are the cause of many terrible things, mainly pollution. Our actions are resulting in water pollution by vehicles. We use leaking oils on the roads, then follow into the sewage and drains causing it to go into the oceans and rivers which can contaminate the seafood that we consume. If the marine life happens to consume or ingest these oils, they will get poisoned and die. 

PLASTIC POLLUTION:

Plastic pollution comes from various sources. Such as: plastic packaging/containers, bottles, plastic bags, etc. These plastics can end up in the ocean by people not putting them in the rubbish bins and leaving it out on the sidewalk or throwing it out of their windows carelessly, and possibly killing the aquatic species.

CONCLUSION:

In summary, there are still lots of pollutants left in the world that can contaminate and endanger our life on Earth. Fortunately, there are many ways to keep our environment clean, as simple as just picking up rubbish near you. So be responsible, be kaitiakitanga.

On Tuesday , 6th of August , Kāhu students , Kāhu teachers , and some parent helpers went on a trip to Botanic Gardens for our Launch theme “Kaitiakitanga.” We also went to Totara Park but unfortunately, I was sick that day. It was around a 20 minute walk going there and coming back to school . When we finally arrived we sat down on the wet grass while the teachers and parent helpers looked at there sheet of paper which would give instructions on what they would do for the day . After a few minutes the teachers explained on how the day would go and introduced all of the parent helpers . Miss Rowland started to call out the people in each group and as I waited I watched everyone settle into their groups . But finally my name got called out . I was in a group with: Mya , Kaitlyn , Miya B , Ishita , Lorval , Paige , and the parent helper , which was Mya’s mum.

When I joined my group, the first activity we did was a scavenger hunt. The challenge was to find plants and flowers with names starting from A to Z, using an app called “Seek.” This app helped us identify various plants around Botanic Gardens. We quickly pulled out our devices and began scanning every plant in sight. We encountered many brightly colored flowers, with lots of them in bright shades of pink, yellow, purple, and red. We wrote down each one on our paper as we found them. At first, we weren’t sure if we’d finish, but we did it! After we finished, we went back to where we started, had morning tea, and took a short break. Then, we went on a trail walk and found out how the trees help the filter the water with their roots around Botanic Gardens. After this lovely adventure to the Botanic Gardens we called this day an end and walked back to school just in time for lunch!

You may be wondering, what is kaitiakitanga? and what is it about..? Well, kaitiakitanga is all about caring for the environment, like the sea and our land. Kaitiakitanga also translates to guardianship and protection. So we should all be kaitiakitanga and care for our environment and be its guardian.

Introduction

There is a famous author born on January 3rd, 1892, called J.R.R Tolkien (short for John Ronald Reuel Tolkien.) You may not know his name, but you will know his books.

 Early Life

J.R.R Tolkien was born in 1892, in Bloemfontein, South Africa. Although, J.R.R Tolkien grew up in Birmingham, UK. Him and his family moved to Birmingham when he was just the age of 4 years. As he grew up there, he went to school there (all primary, college, and university.) The school was named “King Edwards School.” Later on he went to another primary school named “St Philip’s School.” But for college, he went to “Exeter College,” at Oxford University. J.R.R Tolkien had one brother growing up, Who was younger than him. His name was Hilary Arthur Reuel Tolkien. Hilary was born on the 17th of February, 1894, 2 years after J.R.R Tolkien.

Portrait of J.R.R Tolkien

Personal Life of J.R.R Tolkien

J.R.R Tolkien got married to his wonderful wife when he was the age of 24, on the 22nd of March, 1916, to Edith Mary Bratt. Later on, he had 4 children, 3 boys and 1 girl. Named John Francis Reuel Tolkien, who was the oldest, Micheal Tolkien, second oldest, Christopher Tolkien, second youngest, and Priscilla Reuel Tolkien, the youngest Tolkien child. J.R.R Tolkien had many occupation(s), such as: being an author, being an academic, being a poet, and studied and became a philologist (meaning “someone who studies the history of languages”.) Did you know? The Greek term for philology means “a love of words?” Sadly, J.R.R Tolkien passed away on the 2nd of September, 1973, because of a chest infection.

Portrait of J.R.R Tolkien

Tolkiens Fame

J.R.R Tolkien gained fame from two of his books, and still to this day! These books are named “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings.” Which you may be familiar with! The Hobbit was made in 1937, it was based on children’s fantasy book. But for The Lord of the Rings, it was made later on, in 1954. The Lord of the Rings was about war and high fantasy, but it was made as a sequel for The Hobbit. Did you know? The Hobbit was originally made for just his children?

Famous books by J.R.R Tolkien

Interesting facts

Did you know? J.R.R Tolkien could speak 15 both real and fictional languages (which is called being a “polyglot”.) J.R.R Tolkien fought in World War 1, for the British Army when he was 24, In 1916. J.R.R Tolkien unfortunately became an orphan when he was just 12 years old, So that’s the answer to why a lot of his characters are orphans as well. When J.R.R Tolkien was young, he used to love drawing and painting, but especially landscapes and trees. J.R.R Tolkien’s parent’s names were: Mabel Tolkien, and Arthur Tolkien. His mum was born in 1870, and his dad in 1857.

J.R.R Tolkien with his family

Conclusion

J.R.R Tolkien was a smart Author and Philologist, with very interesting books, if it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t have these amazing and fascinating books and movies.

By Harnoor 

Whoosh! As the baby polar bear flew into the sky!

Very high, oh very, very high!

The baby bear bounced into the blue night sky,

She went as high as the clouds.

Then all the way to the ground,

Every time she flew,

Bright white stars grew.

As they danced up in the air,

Without a care.

She wanted to do it again and again,

But then her mother had to explain..

“It’s past your bedtime!”.

As I head towards the the sight,

I get a shock with fright..

Should I do it?

Should I not?

As everyone screams my name and yells,

I go further away from Earth.

But, I would be the first person to see,

What a black hole would truly be.

Closer, closer, and closer…

What about my family?

What about my friends?

Oh well..it’s about to end…

3…2…1….BAM!

Everything is blury,

Oh I just have to worry!

Then, everything turns dark.

Wait…what is this spark?

I foresee a flash in my eyes,

I see shiny dots just like fireflies.

Is everything about to end?

As they send someone to come save me,

But, can you really blame me?

I am still conscious, low in oxygen,

But then…silence..

In term one, Kāhu made digital art, including me. We made a scenery type of art, including native New Zealand birds (Tūī, Pukeko, Kakapo, kiwi etc). Also including different plants, clouds, hills, and flowers. I needed to use Canva to make a A4 template for our digital art. Here is the success criteria I ticked off:

1. Include a pattern in our background
2. Include 2-4 images from the Flora Folder
3. Include 1-2 images from the Bird Folder
4. Use layering of images for effect
5. Change the size of images for effect
6. Change the rotation of images for effect 

It was kind of hard for me since I was being a bit indecisive as I was having a hard decision to pick which one I should use. Although in the end it turned out pretty great.

Art can come in many different shapes and forms. There is a large variety of different art. For example, Dance, Photography, Architecture, Painting, Literature, and way more. But, what’s the History of Art? I wonder…

Dance – a physical form of art.

Dance has been an important part of this world for centuries, but why? There are different styles of dance, some examples are: Ballet, Theatre, Pop, Jazz etc. Following up to the question, “why is dance so important in human life?”. In the olden times dance was a way to communicate and was used for ceremonial celebrations all across the world, including: Indian Dance, Māori Dance, China, Ancient Greece and other places across the world.Ballet first originated in Italy, during the 1500s. The word “Ballet” was formed from the Italian word “Ballare”, which means “to dance”. During the 1800s (even right now in 2024!) dance was used as a form of entertainment. Usually in the theatre’s. The most popular form of dance during these times was “The Waltz”. Waltz meaning: “to roll or revolve”. The Waltz symbolizes freedom, passion, character and expressiveness. To the late 1940s-50s until the 21st century (current time), pop & jazz were very popular as well as dance competitions.

Painting – An expressive form of art.

Painting styles changed with the time passing. In the Ancient Stone Age. Painting/Drawing was made on their cave walls or on rocks. This art is preserved in museums across the world for display.
Skipping forward to the 1800s, “neoclassicism” was the most popular form of painting/drawing (between 1780s to 1900s). Neoclassicism originated from Rome, then spread across England and France, after a while it spread through a large population. In the 1900s, Artists usually painted sceneries that were throughout their life like flower gardens, natural views, sunsets, lakes/ponds and much more for them to explore about the scenic art. In our current time, our drawings are usually modern and cinematic art. (meaning storytelling).

Art has been a way for people to express their emotion and feelings since it even started. Art can be a hobby or something to do to place your creativity. So there you have it, the history of art.

The End.